1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-type air conditioner address setting method and address setting device, and in particular, to a multi-type air conditioner address setting method and device for setting the addresses of interior units of a multi-type air conditioner in which the interior units are connected, via coolant pipes and signal wires, to coolant pipe connecting portions and signal wire connecting portions of a single exterior unit, which is provided with a plurality of the coolant pipe connecting portions and signal wire connecting portions.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a multi-type air conditioner, a single exterior unit and a plurality of interior units are connected at an installation locale via coolant pipes and signal wires. If there is faulty connection of the coolant pipe connecting portions (valves) or signal wire connecting portions (connectors) of the exterior unit, much time is requires to confirm the connections.
Conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-11256, interior heat exchanger temperature sensors which detect the temperatures of interior heat exchangers are provided at the respective interior units, and valve temperature sensors (gas branch-pipe temperature sensors) are disposed at the respective coolant pipe connecting portions of the exterior unit, so that the status of connection of the interior units can be confirmed. In this method, first, numbers (i.e., addresses DC1 through DC4) are given in advance to the respective interior heat exchanger temperature sensors, and addresses DG1 through DG4 are given to the respective valve temperature sensors. Next, any one of flow regulating valves is completely opened, and one of the interior units is operated at a designated mode (e.g., a cooling mode). The address of the interior heat exchanger temperature sensor whose temperature has dropped and the address of the valve temperature sensor whose temperature has dropped are detected, and are stored in correspondence. Then, during normal operation, the respective interior units are controlled on the basis of the stored contents.
However, the above-described conventional method has a drawback in that it is necessary to set the address of each sensor in advance, and address setting requires much work. Further, because it is necessary to dispose a temperature sensor at each of the interior units and coolant pipe valves, the structure of the device is complex. Moreover, control is complicated as the corresponding relationships between the valves and the connected interior units must always be referred to.